The Grenada gazette., 1887-11-19

f,ur huttsr export trade like Ouu
market for dry goods has been injured
by poor packing. Thousands q pack
ssss have been ruined because OF falss
economy, and exporters. instead Of re re-
ceiying handsome returns, have really
had to pay expenses Of TRANSFORMATION.
etc.; besides losing the total value q
their goods.
However, our dairymen are gradu.
ally learning the art Of preserving ana
packing, and few hints here may
help 10 improve matters still more.
When butter is sold in retail quan-
titles to consumers direct and the idea
of attracting good customers and high
prices is uppermost strict attention
must be paid to q healthy. Uniform ap-
pearance. But any artificial ingredi-
ents to secure color viii soon be de-
tected-hence should be avoided. Gus
toners who are willing to pay well for
a good article always know what they
want and win soon detect fraud.
| For this retail trade the butter -
usually made into pound or half pound
rolls, covered with clean muslin cloth,
and the rolls should not be touched
with the hands in handling. When
+, roll butter for immediate consumption
, Is to be shipped short distances and
gets into the hands Of the middlemen,
3 good practice is to make neat
wooden box holding say twelve rolls,
each roll being wrapped in piece Of
muslin cloth. This method has At
tanned great popularity in England and
France.
Another method Of preparing butter
for immediate consumption is to pack
in porcelain vessels, in which case 1t is
usually peddled around the town or
city, some times by tlD producer and
some times by middleman. and sold
in any quantity desired. For such
purposes tin vessels are Objectionable,
as they rust easy and injure the favor
of the butter.
However, in this country, where
mostly all the butter is made In sum-
mer, we are more directly concerned
in preserved butter, packed in such a
manner that it will stand long journeys
or voyages and keep sweet for several
months.
Under this system firkins are used,
and as this country is destined to be-
come one Of the greatest dairy coun-
tries in the world, it will be well to
mention the varieties of timber which
farmers should now commence to grow
in order to supply the demand for
firkins. It is not likely that any mate
rial will surpass wood for cheapness.
convenience and durability. In Hol-
land. France and Ireland oak frkins
are used, while in Schleswig- -Holstein
beech, when felled in winter, Is re-
garded as the best method of making
them. Eastwood and poplar enter
largely into some methods Of packing,
especially for making boxes for roll
butter. On this continent white ash.
spruce and white oak are favorite TIM
bers out Of which 6rkins are made.
However. the kind of wood has less
to do with the firkin than the method
Of preparing it. The chief objection to
certain kinds Of wood is the woody
flavor" which can be removed, al
though by different methods, according
to the nature Of the favor. For exam
pie, less effort is required to prepare
beech than oak.
In Holland the oak firkins are pre-
pared by sleeping them two hours in
lye and, after pouring off the lye, letting
them stand in the air for day to dry,
after which they are filed with a solu-
ton Of alum for twenty-four hours aud
left to dry for another day.
Just before packing the butter into
them they are thoroughly cleaned with
cold water. In preparing the beech
frkins they are simply washed out
with solution Of soda, then washed
with water and dried. Sometimes they
are also filed with brine, which is
allowed to remain in them several
days.
In the United States the woody
flavor is removed by soaking the firkins
in hot brine, one quart Of salt being
placed in each tub, and boiling water
added. When the brine gets cold the
sSme operation is repeated, except that
cold water is added'instead of hot, and
the second brine is allowed to remain
in the tub until it is ready for packing.
It Ii preferable, il possible, that the
frkins used by each packer should have
. uniform weight; otherwise the honest
weight Of the wood should be marked
on each tub, which facilitates the as
pertaining Of the just weight Of butter.
There are many conveniences in hav.
ing uniform tare for the butter tubs,
but this does not mean that every tub
should contain the same quantity Of
butter. These tubs may vary from
thirty TO . hundred pounds in butter